AUBURN MED. CENTER v. Health Care Auth.

This is an appeal involving competing applications for a Certificate of Need (CON) to operate additional hospital beds in Lee County. The issuance of a CON is a prerequisite to the offering or operation of any "new institutional health service" in the state by any individual or entity. § 22-21-265, Ala. Code 1975.

In October 1983, Auburn Medical Center, Inc. (AMC), filed an application with the State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA), seeking approval for the construction and operation of a new, sixty-four bed general hospital facility in Auburn, Alabama. In response, East Alabama…